A place for my personal reflections and recording some of the highlights of my life.

Friday, January 15, 2016

Day 15

MY LEFT EYE

I've said it before and I will say it again....."I HATE THE AGING PROCESS!" So, last night at about 8:30 I began seeing flashes of light raining down my left eye. Uh Oh. I've known those who have had detached retinas and that is no fun! After doing a bit of research on the internet and calling both the consulting nurse and our friend, DL, who is a retired optometrist, we determined we could wait until morning but that I would have to go in to get it looked at.

Long story short, I do not have a detached retina but rather the viscous gel in my left eye is pulling on the retina. CAUSE: advancing years. Ugh. I need to keep on "eye" on it and if I get floaters or a "veil" of cloudiness then I need to get back to see an ophthalmologist and quickly! Otherwise, wait 2 weeks and go back in to get it checked to make sure it has resolved itself.

After that I needed to get an xray of my knee. My bad knee, or my good knee depending on how you look at things. My left knee is the one I had the total knee replacement on over a year ago. You guessed it. I've been having pain in that knee. Why? Who knows. I thought it was the changing weather, but I couldn't make a clear connection. So I will wait until Monday or Tuesday to hear back from the surgeon as to how things look (I'm assuming everything is fine) BUT I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THIS PAIN IS ALL ABOUT. It hurts SOMETIMES when I walk or stand, but not when seated or lying down. I am so tired of all these little nickel and dime problems that keep creeping up. One thing for sure....I'm HEALTHY!! Blood pressure is great, no other serious problems. I'm doing GOOD! In light of the 2 people who were formerly on staff at church who both had alzheimers (both younger than me!) One died 2 weeks ago and the other is very near the end. I need to quit complaining and just adjust to the fact that I'm nearing 70. Goodness!! How did that happen???

Bottom line: If you get some weird things going on in one of your eyes, get in to see your optometrist and get it looked at right away. My doctor was pleased that I came in soon. Some people wait a couple of days and by then the retina can detach and then it requires surgery. If my situation doesn't heal on its own, I may need a laser treatment to reconnect things. Much more simple than if I had not gotten it checked and it got worse. It is always something!!